National Park(ing) Day 2008, an annual event, is coming up on September 19th. It celebrates parks in cities by creating temporary parks in public parking spaces. National Park(ing) Day is an all-volunteer event, and any participation is welcome. One can, build his or her own park, help others build parks, or simply visit Park(ing) Day parks throughout the day. Get the details here, a how-to manual, photos and videos, or to connect with participants near you.

In Chicago, we drink out of Lake Michigan, so things like this matter:

Two Anishinawbe Grandmothers, and a group of Anishinawbe Women and Men have taken action regarding the water issue by walking the perimeter of the Great Lakes.

Along with a group of Anishinabe-que and supports, they walked around Lake Superior in Spring 2003, around Lake Michigan in 2004, Lake Huron in 2005, Lake Ontario in 2006 and Lake Erie in 2007.

…to raise awareness that our clean and clear water is being polluted by chemicals, vehicle emissions, motor boats, sewage disposal, agricultural pollution, leaking landfill sites, and residential usage is taking a toll on our water quality. Water is precious and sacred…it is one of the basic elements needed for all life to exist.

More about the walk and news from this year walking around Lake Michigan again.

Big news from Theresa Williamson in Rio…

Catalytic Communities’ (CatComm) five-year experiment of launching and running the “Casa” community technology hub for leaders in downtown Rio has accomplished its mission!

…Community leaders from Rio de Janeiro and beyond found in the Casa the possibility to articulate themselves as a network and strengthen their local projects using digital tools.

Over the past 5 years, the Casa has served 1050 community leaders from 215 neighborhoods across the city of Rio de Janeiro. An additional 400 journalists, university professors and students, NGO activists and others have also shared in the space. And people from 23 of Brazil’s 26 states have attended events, not to mention 22 nations.

AND NOW… in 2009 CatComm will launch a new version of our CatComm.org website, where, in addition to searching for local projects from the four corners of the globe to serve as inspiration… community organizers will be able to participate in the likes of a “virtual Casa” - an online space for sharing experiences, capacity-building, fundraising opportunities, and dialogue with other leaders and volunteers the world over.

Go! Go! Go!

UPDATE: Theresa just pointed me to these pictures from OpenSpace1, OpenSpace2, and OpenSpace3. I did some coaching with her some time ago to get them started in Open Space. It does indeed make me a happy camper to see these results!

Nope, not a new Obama website.

GOforChange.com highlights the people and organizations in Baltimore-Washington who are working for positive change. This is a place where people can come to get information, learn something unexpected, and be inspired to take action. More on Mission…

The posts are short. The pictures give colorful views of encouraging work. Interesting and relevant beyond their regional focus.

MEDICO’s mission is to provide medical, eye and dental services in remote areas of Central America where there is little or no access to health care. MEDICO is a 501(c)3 nonprofit humanitarian service organization based in Georgetown, Texas.

I learned this from their website after Brian Crowe stumbled upon my website and Open Space materials, and sent me an email. I was impressed to find that they’ve been at this for 18 years, have served 150,000+ patients served, and are now reporting action and progress in a weblog. Trading emails, interested in helping out.

I like to think that MEDICO, Kiva, DonorsChoose and the people who run (and join) these groups are part of an emerging Story of Service that is what comes after The Story of Stuff.

Michael Maranda is doing short interviews with people on the street, asking them what they know about the Chicago citywide wifi proposal, where they get their news, what they know about the internet, and how they use it.

This is all part of his work locally, statewide and nationally to cultivate digital literacy, otherwise known as bridging the digital divide. He’s organizing 77 community groups citywide to make sure that the citywide wifi contract will serve ALL of Chicago’s neighborhoods.

He’s posting the interviews at YouTube. I guess, in a few days, he’s going to post the one he filmed with me earlier this week — so go look now before that one posts! And Michael — I think your demographic sampling is a bit off!

Mike Morin shares an interesting, practical, (and concise) neighborhood-based approach to rearranging our economic systems. He proposes a new structure, what he calls a Neighborhood Improvement Fund (a local sort of mutual fund), as the core of the shift. He favors equity unions over micro-lending arrangements, suggests a list of core operating principles (ideals), and outlines the basic structure and function of a Neighborhood Improvement Fund.

I met Cheryl Honey earlier this week at the international Transformative Mediation conference in Minnesota. She’s the creator of something called Community Weaving and the Family Support Network. Taken together they are a wildly ambitious — and effective — application of Asset-Based Community Development.

Cheryl and friends have created a site that allows anyone to register as a good neighbor and add skills, abilities, interests, experiences and other contributions to a national “resource treasury.” The treasury is searchable by geography, interest, skill, need, and many other ways — but only after you register.

I just registered myself in Chicago, and was able to find several others here to connect with. One of them is even listed as a facilitator of Open Space. I’d like to see the C3 leaders start registering here, too. There is a special designation for groups and we could use that for C3.

This in from my colleagues in Nepal last week, the third iteration of the Summit meeting we started in 2004:

It is our great pleasure to inform you that the third national summit of imagine initiatives of Nepal is successfully concluded on 10 September,2006 in Pokhara. The three day summit made a clear way about how NAINN, Regional Networks and Imagine Initiatives have to move forward in the changed context of Nepal.

The participants discussed on the roles of AI people and organizations. The entire nation is eagerly waiting for ‘NEW NEPAL’ (NAINN’s Ultimate Goal, set in the first summit, 2004). The election of Constituent Assembly and new constitution are at the gate. We AI people and organizations have to play a vital role now so that the election and constituent will be able to address the desire, wishes and need of people.

We can go to the people in the grassroots, every corner of the country and every individual. We can make the people clear how they can make their nation and future bright being positive. NAINN and Imagine Initiatives can facilitate to make the best constituent. This is what discussed in the summit.

The second important thing we discussed in the summit is that we all will continue gearing up the ‘positive mind setting’ and ‘positive societal transformation’ movements this year as well but faster…

Looking forward to joining them in November, for one-day Open Space meeting to follow up on this and other work.

Some of us are talking now about the invitation to a Chicago Summer 2007 conference that would be the extension of our Giving Conference in 2004 and Omidyar Member conferences in 2005 and 2006.

In writing the invitation, I suggested we focus on what it is we’re interested in, and who we *would* invite, rather than the groups of people that we think *should* be there. Too often, *should* begins as a fantasy and ends up as the excuse for NOT acting, not inviting. Better to focus on what we already care about and the people we already know or really want to meet and connect with.

Here is my interest and what/who I’d like to invite in Chicago:

…i’ve just finished the city’s conservation corps training. i’m giving a lot of attention to food, transportation and water practices. i’m also thinking about the nature of practices and habits. i’m still interested in a less visceral way in philanthropy and education.

i’m most interested in spending time with a group that would be willing to identify, share, expand and strengthen the body of things they are doing that seem to be part of the ’solution.’ everything from turning off lights and faucets to conserve, buying organic, recycling, to organizing new foundations or community projects — or growing old ones, blogging and connecting other ideas, homeschooling, housing coop. whatever. i’m just into hearing more and more about what others are doing NOW that seems like it must be part of “the world we want.”

when i first went to outward bound, winter mountaineering in colorado, the told us it wasn’t about ’survival’ skills… but about learning to be comfortable and easy in strange, quite often harsh, conditions and surroundings. that’s what i’d like now… to be with a bunch of folks who are good at a bunch of things that SUPPORT LIFE. i’m interested in things that help us feel more alive, as individuals and communities. how can we unfold more life and power out of the things we already have, already know, and already are doing? what are the simple things we can do now or next, to cultivate more LIFE — to be more comfortable and easy in the world we want?

i’d be most interested in spreading an invitation around chicago networks that i’m connected/ing with and at the same time having our central question or theme (different from design or outcomes) be something that is universal enough that many might choose to come from afar. giving, more good things happen, personal power and action, community connections… the sorts of broad themes we’ve had in the past work for me because i could be working on growing and inviting a chicago group of people and still invite and include friends and colleagues from afar. to the extent that any local group(s) would grow and prosper, it could be a easily replicated elsewhere.

My own proposal for theme: ALL AT ONCE.

more and more, we are being asked to do many things at once — not just multi-tasking, but be aware of many different views and realities at once, to function in conflicting roles, to accept conflicting realities, and change many habits… ALL AT ONCE

what are the issues and opportunities for practicing all of the things that we need to do personally and socially to cultivate and support more and more LIFE in ourselves and the world, working and living together to create the world we want. all at once is for all the things we do… and all the groups and networks in which we do it. what if we could do and gather all of those… ALL AT ONCE?

Would you join ALL AT ONCE? …or propose something else? You can join the planning conversation here. The bit about interests and theme comes up later in the thread, about here.

The City of Chicago has scheduled its third Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Collection event of the year. Materials will be accepted on Saturday, August 12 from 8am to 3 pm at the North Park Village, 5801 N. Pulaski.

Residents can rid their homes of old light bulbs, computers, computer printer cartridges, televisions, cell phones in addition to old paint cans, solvents, cleaners and other dangerous chemicals that can cause major health problems, for children and adults. Old gasoline cans that do not effectively keep fuel fumes sealed will be accepted as well as old medications.